Connect with Wiley

The login area provides access to embargoed journal content and journal
papers to registered members of the media. To request access to this content,
please complete the form available at
www.wiley.com/go/journalnews.
Please note you may be asked to provide evidence of media affiliation. If you
have any questions please email
sciencenewsroom@wiley.com.

Media Toolkit

Study Provides Insights on Whale Shark Populations and Evidence for their Historic Rise and Recent Decline

Image courtesy of Simon Pierce

In the largest study on the genetics of whale sharks conducted to date, researchers found that the world’s biggest fish likely exist in 2 distinct populations with minimal connectivity between the Indo-Pacific and the Atlantic Ocean. The findings suggest that mixing of whale sharks between the Indian and Atlantic was and is rare.

The Molecular Ecology investigators also found a significant and likely recent population expansion, but a very recent bottleneck might have gone undetected as genetic diversity at Ningaloo Reef in Australia has declined during 5 consecutive recent years.

In the future, genetic analyses can greatly increase researchers’ still very limited understanding of whale shark ecology and the status of what appears for now to be at least 2 populations.